This post may sound cranky, but really, I am curious. As my physical world has become so much smaller, I’ve generally taken about an hour walk daily, within a couple of miles of home. I live in the greenest part of Boston, just a few steps from the Emerald Necklace, a connected park system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s first landscape architect and a personal hero. Olmsted knew, 150 years ago, that the day would come when Bostonians would need green space to stay healthy and to help ease the pressures of city living. Clearly, many others in the city appreciate Olmsted’s gift to the city, also, and get out to walk, or jog.

Sadly, I find I can’t always relax during what should be a momentary escape from the pressures of confinement because of the sheer number of people who are exercising, in close proximity, and not wearing a face mask. Many people run toward me, their exhaled breath a cloud I must walk into. Often, people are much closer than 6 feet, too; if running, their expired air definitely travels further than that.

Although face masks are not mandated at present by the federal government, as of May 6 the state of Massachusetts requires residents to “wear face coverings in public when they can’t social distance.” Also, face masks are required in the building in which I live to protect both staff and residents, who share common space and elevators. So, why have so many people not been wearing a face mask in public?

Wearing a cloth face mask protects the people around you, in case you’re one of the perhaps 50% of people who are infected with coronavirus but have no symptoms. Not wearing a face mask tells the people around you that you don’t care if you infect them, perhaps even alter the course of their lives. Not wearing a face mask tells me that you either don’t understand that are putting other people at risk, or that you are really okay with potentially infecting them. Even if you work in a clinical setting, where the risk of infection is much greater than when taking a stroll through a park, it is irresponsible for you not to wear a face mask to protect others when in public.

Need more convincing that, yes, you really do need to wear a face mask when in public? See the US CDC’s Why You Need To Wear A Face Mask: “In light of new data about how COVID-19 spreads, along with evidence of widespread COVID-19 illness in communities across the country, CDC recommends that people wear a cloth face covering to cover their nose and mouth in the community setting. This is to protect people around you if you are infected but do not have symptoms.”